The Big Move
by petuniagirl16
Summary: Edward and Bella decide to take the plunge into shared living quarters, but how will things work out? Chapter 14 up!
1. A Proposal Of A Different Sort

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, or any of the characters involved. Stephenie Meyer does. **

**Author's Note: Read and review….and don't forget to ENJOY!**

Edward and I lounged on my bed. Well, more like we lounged on the bed while embroiled in a heated card game. War, to be exact, and Edward was kicking my butt all the way to Seattle and back again. Eventually, I sighed and threw the cards down; I'd had enough of being a loser. Edward chuckled, and stacked the cards neatly, sliding them into their box. Then, the box disappeared. I looked around for it, and eventually spied a suspicious looking shape in Edward's back pocket. I bit my lip, debating on weather or not to dig in his pocket to get them. The idea of me putting my hand anywhere in Edward's pants made me blush. He must have noticed my internal dig or no dig war, because he handed me the cards. I shoved the pack into my nightstand drawer, and turned back to him. He was smiling hugely.

"You wanted to get the cards from my back pocket, didn't you?" He teased me with his tone.

"You and your observant ways." I mumbled. He knew everything…well, that was a lie. But he knew a lot of things I didn't. I felt his hand on mine, and looked up.

"I wanted you to get them. I put them there intentionally. Some might call it flirting." He looked wistful, and my blush intensified. I smiled.

"What if I had put the cards into my back pocket? Would you try and retrieve them?" My jeans were a little tighter than Edward's slacks, and the idea of his fingers touching me there made my face go from red to crimson. He bit his lip, letting his eyes roam over me.

"Of course." He winked, and I giggled. I thought of the sheer cheesiness of this moment, and decided that I didn't care. I leaned back, and got the cards out of the drawer. I very carefully slid them into my back jeans pocket, pushing them to the very bottom. Then, I flipped over, on my stomach. Edward watched me, a sly smile on his exquisite face. His head was cocked to the side, and his hand reached toward my jeans, and the cards. I smiled, biting my lip. His fingers had just reached my pocket, he disappeared. There was a knock on the door, and then it opened. Charlie was standing there.

"Hey, Bells. What are you doing?" His eye brows came together when he saw the way I was laying. I blushed. "Sometimes, you're so weird. I don't think I want to know. I'm going fishing. I'll be back later…sometime." He closed the door, and I heard his boots clomp down the stairs. I buried my head in the pillow, seriously embarrassed. I felt Edward on the bed, and I lifted my head slightly. His hands were on either side of my head. I turned my head to look up at him; he had himself propped up, directly over me. He flashed a smile, and I turned my head back. I felt him brush my hair aside, and start kissing my neck and ear. His lips left an icy trail. I lifted my head again, and he held the cards out for me. My mouth dropped open. I flipped myself over, so that I was facing him. I snatched the cards out of his hand.

"You're so sneaky! You were distracting me, weren't you?!" I accused him, and he smiled again.

"Yes, Bella, I was distracting you. It made the moment I touched you there less awkward." He traced the shape of my lips with one cool fingertip.

I sighed. "But I didn't even feel it." I complained lightly. I folded my arms, and in an instant, I felt myself shift, and not because I did it myself. I found myself lying on top of Edward, my arms still folded. He smiled at me, and I straddled him. He raised his eye brows.

"So, what should we do today? It's all open, and Charlie won't be back for awhile." I breathed as I kissed his neck. He groaned, and gently pushed me off of his neck. I sighed.

He looked in my eyes. "How old are you, Bella?" He whispered. I had the distinct feeling that he wasn't joking around anymore. The moment had certainly turned serious fast.

"I'm 18, Edward, almost 19." I cringed when I said 19. He obviously understood why I cringed.

"Exactly. You're 18 years old, and I think that you and I shouldn't have to go behind Charlie's back anymore." Edward looked at me, completely serious. I didn't quite grasp what he was trying to say.

"What are you trying to say?" I decided not to mince words. Edward looked away from me, trying to find the words. I got impatient, and sighed. He held up a finger. I laid my head on his chest. He started talking again, and I looked up to watch his mouth move.

"I don't know how to say this so I don't upset you, or surprise you. I've been wanting this for awhile, but I've been too much of a coward to ask you outright." He looked away from me, and I turned his face back toward me.

"What do you want to ask me? I'm curious, and you know you don't have to be afraid to ask me anything. What is it?" I kissed his cheek, and he smiled.

"I want you to move in with me, Bella." He paused, giving me a second to fully absorb what he'd just said. I thought about it for a minute. It would be far more convenient. And graduation had already passed, so it wasn't like school was in the way. And we were going to college when the summer ended, right? It would give Charlie more time to acclimate to the fact that I was leaving. The more I thought about the idea, the more I liked it. I smiled, and so did he.

"When should we do it?" I asked him. He smiled bigger, and then shot out from under me. He was standing beside the bed.

"I think we should do it as soon as possible; but I also think we should as Carlisle and Esme what they think first." He offered me his hand, and I took it. Soon, we were in the car, on the way to the Cullen house.

Edward's silver Volvo sped down the road. Sooner than I would've thought possible, we were there. Edward parked the car in the garage, and towed me toward the house. Rosalie and Alice were standing on the porch, and they both got visibly excited when they saw me. Edward pushed me behind him, and walked past them into the house. I threw them an apologetic glance, and Alice's stare told me she'd catch up with me later. Edward went up the stairs to Carlisle's office. He knocked gently, and I heard Carlisle's faint "Come in."

Edward opened the door fluidly, and allowed me to go in first. Esme was sitting in one of the chairs in front of Carlisle's desk. Edward sat in the other, pulling me onto his lap. Esme smiled. I blushed.

Edward spoke before Carlisle could say anything. "Bella and I would like to talk to you about something." Carlisle nodded. Esme was watching us expectantly.

"We would like to talk to you about Bella moving in." Edward had no sooner gotten the words out of his mouth than Esme was on her feet, her arms wrapped around us.

"I think it would be a great idea! When can she move in?" Esme talked excitedly. Carlisle had an amused yet surprised look on his noble face. Edward sighed and rolled his eyes.

"That's what we wanted to talk to you about, actually. We wanted to work out all the logistics." Carlisle leaned forward at his desk, and Esme unclasped her arms from around us, and settled back into the chair.

Edward and Carlisle leaned toward each other to work out the plans for the move, and Esme and I talked about what we would do to Edward's room.

The plan was underway.


	2. The Basement

**Author's Note: Okay, okay. I know I did this in Mission: House Party, but I'm going to tell you again how AMAZING Eclipse is. Get yourself a copy as soon as you can! Best one yet! Now that my plugging is over, thank you, thank you, thank you for all the fabulous reviews! Delliz asked if this was a one shot, and I laughed out loud. I don't think I'm capable of writing that little. Anyway, on with the story! Keep reading and reviewing! Oh! I finally took the plunge and submitted the story I've been working on to Fiction Press. Check it out! It's called Vengeance. Review and tell me what you think! I think it's gotten like one hit. **

Edward and Carlisle were bent over Carlisle's desk, deep in thought. Esme and I looked at each other, traded bored looks, and snuck out of the room. We crept down the stairs, and into the living room, where Alice and Rosalie lounged beautifully on the sofas, their eyes on the TV, but not really watching. Alice turned her head when we walked in, and jumped up, squealing.

"You're moving in? I'm so excited!" She threw her arms around me, and we jumped up and down together. Well, Alice jumped up and down, and I was taken along for the ride. Esme, Alice, Rosalie and I made our way to the dining room, and sat down. Rosalie produced a folder, I don't quite know from where, and laid it on the table. She pushed it towards me gently. I opened it, and all these beautiful designs lay before me. I gasped. Some of them looked hand drawn.

"Rosalie, did you draw these?" I was flabbergasted. These were gorgeous. The majority of them kept in tune with the gold color Edward's room already was. I thought that since I was moving into his house, and not the other way around, I would let him keep his color scheme. Rosalie smiled and looked down.

"Some of them. Esme helped immensely." Rosalie's voice was quiet. I quickly scanned through the drawings, and finally picked out the one I liked best. It kept the gold theme, and got rid of the couch, which I was a little sad about. I'd had a lot of good times on that couch. I let my mind wander for awhile, reminiscing about Edward and I on his couch. Then, I snapped my mind back to attention, and studied the drawing more closely.

The bed, huge, dark wood, and four postered, stood on the far wall of the room, right by the door. It had a gold bedspread and a wide array of throw pillows. Edward's CD wall stayed where it was, as did the carpet I'd grown so fond of. There were a couple chairs, covered in luxurious gold fabric, and beautiful dark wood nightstands. There were curtains, gold, installed so that the huge picture window could be covered. A tall plant stood in the corner near the closet. I was hooked as soon as I laid my eyes on it. I slapped my hand down on the table, startling Rosalie and Esme, but not Alice. Alice was always about three steps ahead of everyone else. Sometimes, I envied her gift.

Rosalie smiled. "I was hoping you'd pick that one. It's the simplest, but I drew it." I had the feeling that if Rosalie could blush, she'd be pink right about now.

"That's what I like about it: the simplicity. It's so Edward and I like it too." I smiled at her. She smiled back. Esme squealed, which was a sound new to my ears. I turned my head, surprised. Esme was beaming.

"Let's get to work then!" She stood up, and ran toward the basement. I balked. I'd never been in the basement before. I'd asked Edward about it once, and all I'd gotten was a brief description, and a dismissive wave of his hand. Rosalie and Alice rose fluidly and followed. I clumped after them, feeling the lack of grace as I moved. Esme flung the door open, and floated down the stairs. Once again, Alice and Rosalie followed, and I made my way clumsily after them.

I followed Alice's shadow deep into the basement. There was so much to look at. Gallons of paint, drywall, antiques galore, and that was just in the first room. I went through a door, and found myself in a wonderland of stuff. Bedspreads, sheets, pillows, couches and racks upon racks of clothes. There were clothes from every decade of the 20th century. Poodle skirts, hippie jeans, love beads, ugly 80's sweaters, and flapper dresses colored the racks, and set my imagination on fire. The possibilities for Halloween were endless. I spun around, to look at the other wall, and faced a massive shelving unit that went from floor to ceiling. There were drawers upon drawers of cosmetics and hair supplies, not to mention perfume from all the decades. I looked at the three women with my mouth wide open.

"Where did all this _stuff_ come from?" I marveled aloud. All three of them looked sheepish.

"We have a hard time throwing things away. The guys have a room just like this next door to ours." Alice breathed. She looked around, trying to take it in through my eyes. She turned toward me, her eyes bright. "Do you want to see it?" I thought about that for a second.

"No, there's so much in this room to take in. I don't know if I could handle all the sensory overload." I smiled, and Esme took my hand.

"We have everything down here for your room. All you have to do is tell us which fabric you want for your chairs and bedspread, and tell us which throw pillows you want. We'll take it from there." Esme looked smug. Renovating rooms was her forte.

"Where's the fabric?" I asked her. She laughed, and guided me over to a door I hadn't even noticed. I'd been too consumed by the clothes…and everything else. Esme threw the door open, and if I'd been amazed before, that was nothing now.

Bolts and bolts of fabric lined the walls. Embroidery thread, regular thread, beads, buttons, glitter, and pretty much an entire craft store was spread before me. It was entirely overwhelming. Everyone sensed my disbelievement, and laughed. I swiveled my head to look at Esme.

"Well, we have to do _something_ at night." She giggled, and led me to the gold section of fabrics. I found myself wondering vaguely just how large this basement was. I mean, the house was enormous, but this basement was something else. I was thinking football sized, at the very least. Esme snapped her fingers, and I was catapulted out of my musings. I must have examined, smelled, felt and laid on about 500 pieces of fabric until I finally found the one I wanted. It was almost an exact match to the gold carpet on the floor of Edward's room. It was heavy, and embossed with little dots. It was exquisite. Esme told Rosalie and Alice to take me to see the pillows while she sewed, yes, sewed my bedspread and pillowcases and upholstered the chairs. I followed them in a daze to the room where the throw pillows were kept.

It was a smaller room than all the rest, but that didn't stop them from stuffing it full of pillows, all according to color of course. I picked out about 15 pillows in varying sizes and shades of gold. I'd gotten them all picked out, and set near the stairs, when Edward came down.

"I see they've shown you the basement." He said, wrapping his arms around me. I wound my arms around his neck, and inhaled his scent.

"Yeah, they did. I've never seen anything like it. It's so much stuff!" It was safe to say I was completely overwhelmed by the things I'd seen down here, and I had the distinct feeling I hadn't seen all of it.

He chuckled. "Well, let's get upstairs and discuss the move, and you can come down later and check on the progress. Okay?" I nodded. He took my hand and started up the stairs. I squinted my eyes, and saw Alice and Rosalie playing with the pillows I'd chosen. I wondered when the bedspread would be done. I figured two weeks at the least. Edward towed me up the stairs, and into the living room, where Emmett and Jasper were sitting. Jasper looked up, and smiled at me.

"So, when are we moving your stuff?" He was smiling, and Emmett laughed silently.

Edward smiled. "That's what we need to talk to you about." He sat down, pulling me down with him.

I groaned.


	3. The Reveal

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the amazing reviews! I really don't know what else to say, so I'll start writing.**

Jasper, Emmett, Edward and I sat in the living room, talking about the move, and what we were taking and what we weren't. I realized sadly that there would be no need for their super brawn. I probably wouldn't take a lot of the furniture from my bedroom. The only thing that would really require effort from someone else, were the large collection of books I'd amassed while living in Forks, and the closet full of clothes, shoes and accessories that Alice had bestowed upon me. I was so wrapped up in thought that I only snapped out of it when Edward bumped me because of Emmett's playful shoving. By the time I looked up, Emmett had his t-shirt pushed up to reveal his large bicep. He was bragging that he could do the whole move by himself. I rolled my eyes.

"Emmett, _Alice_ could do the whole move by herself." I laughed after I said that, and Jasper and Edward looked at me incredulously. After the disbelief subsided, they started laughing. Emmett rolled his shirt sleeve back down. I felt bad, for a second. Edward nudged me, and I turned to face him.

"What _are_ you going to take from your house? You don't exactly have a lot of stuff." He looked at me seriously. I honestly didn't have an answer for him. I knew I was taking the books and clothes, but did I want the furniture? When I was gone, did I want Charlie peeking in on an empty room? The thought saddened me. I shrugged my shoulders. Edward opened his mouth to say something, and then Alice burst into the room. Well, flew more than burst. Burst wouldn't be a graceful enough word to describe her movements. She marched up to Jasper, pecked him on the cheek, and grabbed my hand, towing me out of the room. I heard Edward call after us.

"Bella, I'll talk privately with you later. Alice, don't hurt Bella please. It would be a lot of wasted effort." I smiled meekly at Edward, and Alice's laugh floated musically through the air. Edward's face was cut from view as I was carried down the basement stairs into pitch blackness. When we got to the bottom of the stairs, Alice set me down. I followed her into the room with all the fabric in it. She led me up to the sewing machine Esme had been working on.

Esme beamed at me, and held the finished bedspread out for me to see. I felt my mouth drop open, and Rosalie's cool hand gently shut it. It was beautiful. She had used gold threat that was an exact match to the fabric, and quilted it. I stared at it for awhile, and tentatively reached out my hand to touch the material. It felt as good as I remembered. Then, Esme held out the finished pillowcases. They too, were breathtaking and exquisitely sewn. I mentally calculated how much time I'd spend upstairs with the testosterone team. It was about an hour. I was blown away at how much they'd gotten done.

Alice nudged me. "We upholstered the chairs!" She said excitedly. I spun around, and there before me were two of the most beautifully upholstered chairs I'd ever seen. They were dark wood, just like the bed, and upholstered with the same fabric as the bedspread. The quality of the work was flawless. I smiled at Alice and Rosalie, who were standing right beside me.

"It's beautiful. Thank you so much." I stood there for a second, absorbing the work. Then, I thought of something. "Where's the bed?" Alice answered first.

"Esme took it upstairs, to Edward's room to assemble it. She brought the couch down here and put it in the guy's room." She grabbed my hand. "Let's go see if she's done yet." I felt myself get jerked up the stairs, past the living room, and up more stairs to Edward's room. By the time we came through the doors, the room was set up. It looked exactly like the drawing. I loved it. No, I more than loved it. It was absolutely perfect. I gasped again.

"Esme, Alice, Rosalie…this is…this is perfect!" They were standing in a group, so I threw my arms around all of them. I felt six arms hug me back. It was going to be great living here. I pulled out of their arms, and they floated around me and out the door.

"We'll give you some time to get used to it." Esme said as she closed the door. I crossed the room and threw myself down onto the huge bed. The fabric felt really good on the bits of my bare skin. I was wearing a tank top under the shirt I had on, so I took the over shirt off, and flung it on the floor, enjoying the feel of the material on my arms.

Then, I felt something more than fabric touching my skin. Edward skimmed his fingers along my arms, raising a trail of goose bumps as he went. I turned over, so I could see his face, and my sharp intake of breath was audible.

Edward had also removed his shirt, and the sight of all that exposed, smooth marble skin was breathtaking. His perfectly muscled chest was begging for me to touch it, so that's what I did. I ran my hand over the contours of his chest, reveling in the contrast between my warm fingers and his icy skin. He grabbed my hand and pressed it to where his heart was. Where I should have felt beating, I felt nothing. His eyes burned into mine intensely.

"Are you sure you want to move into a house with a group of the undead?" His eyes were serious. I moved my hand from his chest to his heartbreakingly beautiful face.

"I've never been more sure of something than I am of this. I love you." I traced the shape of his lips with my fingers while I was talking. Right after the words slipped out of my mouth, his lips were on mine. I threaded my fingers through his hair, and gasped as his tongue traced the outline of my lips, ever so gently. When I opened my mouth, Edward pulled his head away. I sighed, my fingers still in his hair.

He disengaged my hand, and rolled over to the other side of the huge bed. He smiled his heartbreaking half smile at me, and I rolled my eyes. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

I got immediately suspicious. "What are you thinking about?" I asked him, the accusation strong in my voice.

Edward smiled bigger. "I'm thinking about all Charlie's possible reactions when we tell him you're moving in with me. He's going to be very angry, you know."

I sighed. I really didn't want to have this conversation at that particular moment, but I humored him. "I know. I hope he's going to be alright by himself."

Edward chuckled. "He's going to be fine. He survived without you for seventeen years, and he'll be fine after you're gone." Edward said this without thinking, and I'm sure he only meant when I'm gone from Charlie's house, but that got my mind wandering down a different path. How would Charlie manage when I left? What would Renee do? I didn't want to address those thoughts at that moment, so I pushed them away.

"I'm sure he will." I said vaguely. Edward didn't miss this, but then again, he never missed anything. He scooted closer to me and crushed me against his bare chest. It was cold and hard as a rock, but it was, in my opinion, the best place to be. I smiled, and looked him in the face.

"I'm fine. Really, I am. When are we going to tell Charlie that I'm making the move?" Edward's face fell slightly.

"Whenever you feel ready. I'm not going to push you to tell him. Whenever you feel ready, I'm ready." He looked intently at me. I wondered what I'd done to deserve someone as wonderful as Edward, and then almost laughed out loud. I _didn't_ deserve Edward. I was just being silly.

"Well, we should go tell him now, because I want to move in as soon as possible." I smiled at the thought of calling the Cullen's house home. It would be nice. Edward was off the bed and next to my side in one fluid motion. He held his hand out for me, and I took it eagerly. He jerked me to his chest, and kissed me lightly on the lips. I sighed. His kisses were never enough; he always left me wanting more.

We walked hand in hand down the stairs, and out to the car. Alice smiled at me on the way out, and I took that as an encouraging sign. We climbed into the Volvo and were on the road in less than thirty seconds.

Once we'd reached the house, I sat in the car, full of apprehension. Edward wound his fingers through mine. I felt his eyes on my face.

"Just give me a second. I can do this." I took a deep breath, and reached for the door handle. As soon as I put my hand out, I felt Edward's hand slip out of mine. He was at my door and had it open before I'd even touched the handle.

We headed up to the house hand in hand.


	4. Charlie's Reaction

**Author's Note: Ohh man. I don't think I was quite clear enough. Of course I'm going to continue with The Big Move…I'm going to keep writing it the way it is…no need to freak out! I was asking about the next fan fiction I write….which is more than likely going to be the series of one shots, but I have another in mind too. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews!**

I put my hand on the doorknob, but before I could turn it, the door flew open, startling me. Charlie stood there, just as surprised as I was. He had all his fishing gear on, and from the looks of it, he was headed out to Billy's to go fishing. I saw Edward out of the corner of my eye, trying to suppress a smile. I elbowed him in the side.

"Hey, Bells…what are you doing back so early? I thought you were gonna be a the Cullen's all day." He said, confused.

"Um, well I came home to talk to you about something, if that's okay." I stuttered, but finally managed to spit the sentence out. Edward squeezed my hand.

Charlie nodded, and set his tackle box near the door. "Of course, Bella, let's talk." He turned and headed for the living room. I followed, pulling Edward behind me. Charlie flopped down on the couch, obviously wary of whatever I was planning on saying. I sat down, Edward sitting next to me.

"Well, you know that I'm a high school graduate, and also over eighteen," I started. Charlie looked even more wary. "So I wanted to know if you'd be opposed to me moving in with Edward." I said the last part really fast, so that I wouldn't have to draw it out. Charlie's face went from wary to puce in a matter of seconds.

"Yes, I think I would mind! What are you thinking, Bella?" Charlie was standing up now, and so were Edward and I.

"It's just for the summer, dad. After that, I'm going to college! It's no big deal!" I was almost hysterical now. I needed Charlie to be okay with this, I really did.

Edward interrupted smoothly. "We'll be moving Bella into my current residence. Carlisle and Esme will still be there."

Charlie's face went back to normal color. "Oh. I thought you two were getting a place of your own. If Carlisle and Esme are there to keep an eye on you, then I suppose its okay."

I was flabbergasted. He dropped it just like that? Yes, yes he had dropped it just like that. I stood there, shocked.

"So you're okay with this?" Edward's velvet voice continued. Charlie nodded.

"Yes, I think I am. When were you planning on moving? Is there anything I can do to help?" Charlie stood with his hands in his pockets.

"Wait, wait, wait! So you're okay with this only if Carlisle and Esme are around?" My voice was slightly above yelling, and Edward had his hand on my back. I stepped away from him, and Charlie stepped back.

"I just think you're too young to get a place of your own, Bella. It'll be hard enough when you go to college. Take it easy." Charlie looked slightly afraid of me, and Edward looked amused. I sighed, defeated. Charlie wasn't going to speak the truth, and it looked like I couldn't make him. I crossed my arms over my chest, and stepped back from Charlie. He looked visibly relieved.

"We were planning on moving Bella in sometime this weekend. Everyone will be home then. But I guess it all depends on what Bella wants to take with her." Edward looked at me, and I blushed. I hadn't given this any thought yet.

"Well, I think I'll leave all the major furniture pieces, and take my books and my clothes…that's not much, is it?" Edward shook his head. Charlie looked suddenly nervous.

"Are you sure you don't want that furniture, Bells? I mean, it's yours if you want to take it, but if you don't, I understand." He looked at the floor, and I instantly felt bad.

"Do you want me to take the furniture, Dad?" I whispered. This was getting difficult.

Charlie nodded. "I kind of had plans for that room, but I can give the furniture to Billy and Jacob if you don't want to take it."

I smiled. He was planning on redoing my room as soon as I left, which showed that he was sort of moving on. Then again, he could've been wanting to redo it so it doesn't remind him of me. The smile on my face faded.

"I'll take the furniture. I might want to use it someday." I glanced up the stairs toward my room. I felt Edward's icy hand touch mine.

Charlie brightened a little. "So what day were you moving, again?" He laughed, and I punched him lightly on the shoulder.

Edward took the question literally. "Saturday, I think. It would be the best day." I suppressed a smile. Edward was so technical sometimes.

Charlie sighed. "Anything I can do?" He looked doubtful, and not surprised in the least when Edward said he didn't have to help. "Well, I guess those boys are a little stronger than I am." He looked at me, an expression I didn't recognize on his face. It looked a little like his eyes tightened. I looked at the floor, not wanting to see his pain.

Edward coughed, and Charlie started.

"Well, I better get going. Billy's expecting me at the lake. Bye, Bells." He walked past me, patting me on the shoulder as he went. Then, he was gone. I turned to Edward, and buried my face in his chest. I felt his strong arms encircle me.

"That was easier than I expected." Edward's voice reverberated through his chest. I lifted my head.

"What do you mean?" I was suspicious, and from the look on his face, I had every right to be.

Edward smiled. "Charlie was screaming no in his head the entire time we were talking to him, but as soon as I mentioned furniture, he started thinking about a home office." I rolled my eyes.

"He wants me out so he can turn my room into an office?" I found this hard to believe. Charlie had always been slightly on edge about the relationship between Edward and I. It wouldn't make sense for him to get knocked off track by furniture. I had been sure he would've said no. The whole scene had been a lot less ugly than I'd imagined. I was confused.

"None of this makes sense. Did you do something?" My suspicion got stronger. I saw a smile flit across his face, but he hid it fast and well. I curled my lip back and narrowed my eyes. What was going on?

"No, but Esme did. She called Charlie to tell him how thrilled she was about you moving in, but she didn't know that we hadn't talked to Charlie yet. He knew, and had time to think about the home office. He's actually kind of excited now." Edward looked at me, no sign of guilt on his face.

"Why didn't you tell me this? Having that information would have made things a lot easier." I sighed, and Edward looped his arm around my waist.

"Because everyone needs a healthy dose of fear when they do something difficult." Wait, wait. Stop, rewind, and press play.

"Since when have you ever wanted me to be afraid of anything?" Edward always took on the role of protector. When did that change?

This time, Edward was the one to sigh. "Can we just drop this Bella? Please? I would like to get home." I smiled.

"Me too." Edward's sigh turned into a huge smile.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for you to say that." He dropped my waist, but held on to my hand. We walked out to the car together, and he helped me in, as usual.

We started toward the house, and when we got there, Alice bounced out of the house, and down to the car, almost ripping the door off in her attempt to extract me from the car. I saw Edward cringe as she used more force than necessary to open it.

"We're going shopping!" She was really excited, almost overly so. I was immediately worried. Shopping today?

"Where are we going shopping at?" I felt my eyebrows furrow. Alice took my hand and drug me to Rosalie's convertible. Esme and Rosalie were already situated in the front seats.

"We're going to the store! Humans need to eat, don't they?" Alice's smile broadened until it was almost scary. Rosalie smirked as she saw the expression on my face. I think it was somewhere between hysteria and blinding fear. I turned around to look at Edward, pleading with him with my eyes, begging for him to save me. All he did was smile. Oh boy, was he in trouble later. Suddenly, I felt the ground disappear beneath me, and my back hit leather. A second after that, a safety belt was buckled. We were off.


	5. Pizza?

**Author's Note: I'm so so so so so sorry for the HUGE delay. Life has completely gotten in the way. With school, my job, and theatre, it's been a juggling act to even get my homework done, let alone work on The Big Move. Anyway, here's chapter 5, and I hope to update sometime soon! Thanks for all the reviews! **

On the way to the store, I felt a strange mix of emotions. On the one hand, I felt sadness, but also a strange exhilaration at the fact that I was moving out of Charlie's house. On the other, I felt naked panic at the fact that Alice was taking me food shopping for a house in which no one ate. A strange mix indeed.

As I was wrestling all these emotions, I heard buzzing around me. It took me a second to realize that Alice was talking to me. I pushed the feelings aside, and turned to her. By the time I finally started paying attention, she was quite disgruntled.

"Bella, snap out of it! I was asking you a question!" Alice's cold hands settled on my shoulders and started shaking me.

I shrugged her hands off. "Alice, relax. I was thinking. What did you want to ask me?" I was rather tired of this shopping trip already, and it hadn't even started yet. Alice smiled.

"What do you like to eat?" She asked as we were pulling into the parking lot. I saw many people I knew turn to stare at us, amazed that someone besides Esme or Edward was coming to the store. I felt the blush creep up my cheeks as Alice held the door open for me. Rosalie and Esme were already halfway to the store, not having had to wait for the cumbersome human. Alice sighed.

"Sometimes, Bella, I wish you weren't so slow." Alice took my arm and ushered me gently out of the car. She pulled my hand until we were caught up with Rosalie and Esme. We all walked into the store together, and that staring thing started up again. People looked in awe at Rosalie, Alice and Esme, and I was the odd one out. Sure, they stared at me too, but it was out of curiosity, not because I was stunning, that they stared. Esme pulled a cart from the corral, and went to the first aisle. I sighed. It was dog food.

"Esme?" I tapped her on the shoulder. Alice and Rosalie were smirking. Esme turned to me, a smile on her face.

"Yes?"

"This is the dog food aisle." Esme's smile crumpled.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Bella." She turned the cart around and went three aisles down. Canned soup and peanut butter. At least it was human food. Alice picked up a can, and turned it in her hands.

"This looks good, Bella." She placed the can in the cart. It was cream of celery soup. I grimaced.

"Oh, Alice. That's usually used _in_ recipes. People don't generally eat it by itself." Alice shrugged, and tossed it in the cart. I chuckled quietly. How would Alice know what looked good and what didn't? She hadn't eaten food in many, many years. We went down the aisle, lining the bottom of the cart with a wide array of soups. Clam chowder didn't really appeal to me, but what the heck. Soon enough, it wouldn't matter.

As we trolled through the store looking for unappealing food, my thoughts drifted to Edward. I really, really wanted to be with him right now, discussing what was going to happen in the near future. Sure, I wanted to live with him, and had for a long time, but I still wanted some assurance that this was the right move to make; that I was making the right decision.

"Bella! Look!" Alice's voice pulled me out of my thoughts once again. I noticed the goose bumps on my arms, and looked around. The frozen foods section. I rolled my eyes.

"What?" She was standing with one of the freezer doors wide open. Frost was beginning to form on the door, and an artic blast hit me full on. Pizza.

"Pick 15. They're on sale." Alice started reading the choices off for me. There were so many. I struggled to wrap my mind around all the possible choices. Finally, I just said yes whenever she asked my opinion.

"Do you shop like this every time you come to the store? Won't people get suspicious?" I asked quietly. Rosalie and Esme were off browsing boxed foods. Alice's eyes narrowed.

"No, we don't. Not every time. Besides, who's going to get suspicious when there are six teenagers in the house? No one." Alice's eyes went from narrowed to smiling. Her pixie face was angelic.

I laughed. "Okay…whatever you say. Are we done now?" My feet were starting to hurt, and the frozen products were starting to melt. She didn't answer me right away, so I quickly steered our cart toward the front of the store, and Alice made no attempt to stop me. We got up to the checkout line, where Rosalie and Esme were waiting. Their cart was stuffed with more canned and boxed foods than I felt like counting. My and Alice's cart had all the frozen and meat products. I noticed a little late that Rosalie was also towing a cart filled with various liquids. I rolled my eyes.

"I'll never be able to eat all this, you know. It'll go to waste." I whispered, but I knew Alice, Esme and Rosalie could hear me. They all glared.

"This isn't only about you, Bella. We have a façade to keep up. It's for all of us." Esme had moved close to me, and put her arm around my shoulders. She winked at me, and Alice and Rosalie began loading the groceries onto the belt. I sighed.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" I called. Alice and Rosalie shook their heads at the same time.

"Don't even think about coming over here, Bella. There's a wet spot on the floor, and I don't want to take you back to Edward broken." She shuddered slightly, and kept putting the groceries on the belt. The poor cashier looked out of sorts, and was scanning as fast as her arms would let her.

I sighed again, and tapped my foot. I was anxious to get back to the Cullens. I needed to see Edward. Five minutes later, the cashier was breathing hard, and Rosalie and Alice had just finished bagging the groceries. Esme had her wallet open, and was handing several hundreds to the cashier. I blushed and looked away. That was _a lot_ of money. Alice smirked.

"Bella, Bella, Bella. If you're thinking that's a lot of money, you are seriously mistaken. Remember your prom dress last year?"

I cringed. "Yes, I do. It was gorgeous. Please, please don't ruin it by telling me how much you paid for it."

Alice pouted. "Fine, I won't. But Rosalie might." Rosalie rolled her eyes, and smiled at me.

"I won't."

"Thanks."

Just then, Alice's face went smooth and blank. Her eyes slid shut, and time stood still. Rosalie and Esme were watching her with panic stricken looks on their faces. I stood directly in front of Alice, blocking her from anyone's view. Two minutes later, her eyes opened, and her brow creased.

"Edward won't be there when we get back. None of them will. They all decided to go on a quick hunting trip. They'll be back in about an hour."

I was crushed. I didn't want to go to the store in the first place, and then he leaves? What was that?

"Can we go now? I'm really tired." I pulled the tired card, and immediately got sympathy from Esme.

"Of course dear, Alice, Rosalie, let's go." They pushed the carts through the door, getting strange looks from the other shoppers as they did. I finally realized that a tiny girl like Alice should not have the strength to push a cart as obviously heavy as the one she was pushing. I smirked, and was towed along by Esme to the car.

Eventually, all the groceries were loaded into the trunk of Rosalie's car, although I wasn't entirely sure how. We set off down the road to the house, and I sat idly on the couch while Esme, Alice and Rosalie put the groceries away at vampire speed. So, in about thirty seconds, they were all put away.

Alice noticed me twisting my hands. "Bella, relax. Edward will be back in about…..five minutes."

I glared at her. "Did you have to tell me that? Now the next five minutes will seem like an eternity."

"So sorry. Are you hungry?" Alice leapt gracefully off the couch, and danced into the kitchen. I got up, knowing that she wouldn't quit bugging me until I ate something. By the time I'd reached the kitchen, she'd already thrown a frozen pizza into the oven.

"What kind was that?" I hoped it wasn't the one with spinach. I told her that I hated spinach, that I wouldn't eat it, but she'd thrown it into the cart anyway.

"Something with spinach on it. I thought it looked pretty." She smiled. "No, Bella. It's cheese."

I breathed a sigh of relief, and felt strong arms around me. I turned, and Edward pressed his icy lips to mine.

"Welcome home. I missed you." I threaded my arms around his neck. He bent his head, burying his lips in my neck. I could feel him inhaling my scent.

Alice walked back into the kitchen, pulling Jasper with her. Edward lifted his head.

"Hey, Jasper." I greeted him warmly, and he smiled back. "How was hunting?"

"It was alright, there wasn't much out today, but it was okay. I enjoy the chase." He smiled, and nudged Alice. She pulled my pizza from the oven and set it on the counter. The next thing I knew, it was cut into eight perfect pieces. She winked at me, and she and Jasper sauntered out of the room.

"What's this? It looks disgusting. Wait…is that, is that _pizza_?" He said incredulously. I looked at the circle sitting on the counter. It certainly didn't look like pizza. I touched it gently. It was lukewarm and very, very soggy.

"Alice? What did you set the oven to for the pizza?" I called, sure that she could hear me.

"Um, two hundred? Something like that?" She called, obviously annoyed. I smiled, and threw the pizza in the garbage.

I was definitely cooking for myself from here on out.


	6. Running In The Rain

**Author's Note: AHH! Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I wasn't sure that people would still remember the story after such a long delay. Sorry! Here's Chapter 6. Enjoy!**

After I'd eaten part of a fully cooked pizza, Edward and I went upstairs to our revamped room. It was weird to say _our_ room, when it had been his for so long. It also felt weird to be sharing a room, even if it was with the world's most handsome man. True, I hadn't slept alone in quite a long time, but Edward not having to sneak in and out of the room would make things easier. I took a running jump and flopped onto the huge bed. Before I got a chance to lift my head, Edward was there lying next to me.

"This is a nice bed." I said, mostly to the bedspread. I heard Edward laugh.

"Yes, it is, but you know what's nicer?" He stroked my hair, and I felt his cool hands on my arms, pulling me up so he could see my face.

"Tell me." I sat up, and leaned my head against his shoulder.

"You being on it. I never imagined that I'd ever have you move in. This is surreal." He sighed, and I sat up to look at his face.

"Surreal in a good way, or a bad way?" I felt so stupid for asking him this, since I knew what his answer would be.

"In a good way, no matter what the circumstances, things with you are always good." He smiled down at me, and pressed his icy lips to my forehead. I closed my eyes and exhaled.

"I was hoping you'd say that." I stretched my neck, my lips searching for his. His hand came around and touched the back of my neck. I shivered, and I heard him laugh as he pressed his stone lips against mine. His free hand moved down the length of my body, and stopped when it reached the hem of my shirt. I seriously thought for a second that he was going to pull my shirt up, when the door flew open. Edward crushed me to his body, wrapping his arms around me in a vice tight grip.

He looked up, and relaxed. I fell out of his arms onto the bedspread. "Alice." He was not amused. Alice giggled.

"We're going to the meadow to watch the sunset. You're coming, so be downstairs in five minutes." She skipped out of the room, shutting the door behind.

Edward looked at me. "You know, most of the time her visions are very convenient. But sometimes," he sighed. "Sometimes, they're very, _very_ annoying."

I laughed. "I bet. I guess I'm going to have to get used to dealing with them 24/7. We're going to the meadow?"

"I guess so. When it's sunny, my family likes to go and watch the sunset. It's one of those weird tradition things. It was one of the first things we did together as a finished family, after Alice and Jasper showed up. I realize now that our family wasn't really complete….so we're making a tradition now." He smiled at me, and I got confused.

"What do you mean, you weren't a complete family?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

Edward took my face in his hands. "You weren't here yet. Now that you are, everything's complete." He kissed me full on the lips, and picked me up off the bed. I wrapped my legs around his waist.

"Bella, can we behave today? Please?" His eyes pled with me, and I unwrapped myself. He set me gently on the floor.

"Fine. When are we going?" Edward opened his mouth to answer me. But before he could get the words out, Alice yelled up the stairs.

"Now! Come on!" Edward picked me up, and we zoomed downstairs. Everyone was waiting by the door, and once again I felt like the cumbersome human. I sighed, and Edward set me down.

"Bella, you're not useless. Stop it." Jasper chastised me before being pulled out the door by an overeager Alice. I blushed, and Edward put his arm around my shoulders.

"You're not. Quit thinking like that." He kissed my forehead, and pulled me out the door.

By the time we got to the front yard, everyone was gone. I turned to Edward, who offered me his hand. He flung me onto his back, and I clung tightly to his solid frame. Two seconds after that, we were moving swiftly through the wet forests surrounding Forks. The air rushed past my face and whipped through my hair. I watched in awe at all the green that flew by me. I felt little droplets of water hit my face, and dry just as quickly.

Edward's elation was present even in the way he held me. I could feel his happiness singing through his body. He was light with it. I ran my fingers through his hair, keeping my arm tightly secured around his neck. I felt him smile, and it reverberated through my body, making me smile too.

We reached the meadow in record time, and everyone else was spread out, each enjoying their own private moment. Edward swung me around so I was cradled in his arms; my feet never even came close to touching the ground. He walked to the edge of the meadow, and leaned against a tree. We watched the sunset in silence, just he and I. After it went down, the sky clouded over, and the trees formed a black outline against the pearl grey sky.**  
**Suddenly, the sky opened up, and rain poured down. Everyone else was gone, they'd all gone back to the house, but not before coming over and telling us goodbye. Edward stood up.

"I think we should go, it's getting pretty ugly out here." Edward had to raise his voice so I could hear him over the rain. I shook my head, spraying him with more water. I was soaked, and I saw no reason to go back to the house now.

"No, I'm not going back right now." I turned, and ran to the center of the meadow. Edward was right behind me, and soon enough, in front of me. I turned around, and took the over shirt I was wearing off. I flung it away, and all I had on was a tank top. I felt Edward's cool hands on my shoulders, whirling me around. He took my face in his hands, and looked into my eyes.

"Bella, what are you doing?" The wind was picking up, whipping my hair around and obstructing my view of Edward's perfect face. As the wind blew harder, I felt more reckless. I took _his_ face in my hands and kissed him full on the lips. To my great surprise, he didn't push me away. He got into it, and kissed my neck and collarbone. The water rained down on us, soaking me to the bone. The black outline of the trees swayed dangerously, and the grass rippled in the wind.

I pulled away from him, and ran my hands down his chest. I pulled on his shirt, and he helped me pull it all the way off. I flung it aside as I had my own.

"Let's go running." I said, throwing my mass of wet hair over my shoulder. Edward grabbed me, and held me in his arms as we ran through the forest again, only this time, the rain didn't dry when it hit my face. He ran fluidly, and the happiness from earlier was still very present. I didn't pay attention to where he ran, only him. I studied the planes of his face, his prominent cheek bones, his beautiful lips, his tawny eyes, and the way they were deep in thought. He absentmindedly stroked my shoulder, his mind a million miles away.

We ran for hours, not saying a word. He stopped, and I recognized the soft lights of our home. The huge picture window in the back was glowing, and I could faintly see the outlines of my family. Edward set me down, keeping my hand in his. We walked toward the house, still not speaking. Edward was still shirtless, and the droplets of water collected, and ran down his chest as if he were waterproof. The heavy rain had calmed to a light mist, and the humid air had become frigid. I leaned into Edward, and I could almost see my breath.

We reached the house, and Edward pushed the door open. Alice met us, not looking surprised at our appearance. She looked apprehensive.

"Charlie called awhile ago, and he sounded pretty agitated. He said to stay here tonight, and call him in the morning."

My mouth dropped. "What time is it?" Edward squeezed my hand. Alice looked like she didn't want to tell me.

"It's about 2:30 in the morning. We weren't sure when you guys would be back, so I just told him you were sleeping. He called about midnight."

I groaned. I was in a lot of trouble.


	7. Umm, shopping?

**Author's Note: Sorry I'm so slow! There's just so much stuff going on. Thanks for all the amazing reviews. Enjoy!**

The first thing I saw when I woke up was blinding light, and Alice's petite frame standing near the window. I squinted against the early morning sun, and pulled the bedspread over my head. Of course, it was immediately yanked off. I lost my cool for a second, and in my haste to scramble off the bed to get Alice, I got tangled in the sheets. Right before my face hit the floor, Alice's stone arms were around me.

"Bella, you have to be careful. Anger gets you nowhere." Alice's smooth voice wasn't as soothing as she'd intended, and I burst into laughter. She lost her cool façade. "What?" She sounded annoyed.

"You of all people should not be talking to me about keeping my temper in check. Remember the vase?" I was referring to an incident a couple weeks ago where Alice broke a vase with her bare hands, because Emmett said it was ugly. She was trying to make a case for the vase, and ended up breaking it. Alice's face went from understanding to volatile in a split second.

"You know, Bella, I thought we made a deal. That is not to be mentioned again. What vase?" She pulled me upright, and started fidgeting with my hair. I batted her hand away, last night suddenly flooding back into memory.

"Alice, has Charlie called?" Alice kept fidgeting, and answered me as I opened my mouth to ask again. Alice had the tendency to block out whatever I was saying.

"Yes, he called, and then he showed up. He's downstairs. I told him you were sleeping in my room." Alice was perfectly calm. I, on the other hand, was freaking out. _Charlie_ was downstairs. And I was in Edward's room!

I felt my eyes get bigger, my heart start racing, and my hands start shaking. In less than ten seconds, Edward was in the room, shoving Alice out of the way.

"It's fine. He just wanted to tell you that he was going deep sea fishing with Billy today. He won't be back until tomorrow. He's just waiting for you to come down and tell him goodbye." Edward wrapped his arm around me. I sighed, and relaxed my head into his chest. I dodged _that_ bullet.

I ducked into the bathroom, to make myself seem semi-presentable. Alice opened the door, laid some clothes on the counter, and left. I put them on in a rush, and went downstairs. Charlie was sitting in the living room with Carlisle and Esme. All three of them got to their feet when I entered. Charlie came over, and wrapped me in a bear hug.

"Edward's told you, right?" He said into my ear. I nodded. "I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, so if there's anything you need, um, call Jacob. Okay?"

I nodded, and realized that he couldn't see me. "Yeah, okay. Have fun, Dad. Call me when you get back." My arms found their way around him, and as we held each other, I felt tears well up in my eyes. How much longer would I be able to do this? Would I be able to hug him after I'd changed, or would I want to kill him? I almost shuddered at the thought.

Charlie pulled back, just as I pulled myself together. Edward had seen my face though, and I knew I would face a lot of questions later. I sighed in exasperation, which Charlie mistook for impatience.

"Well, I think I'll get going. See you in a few days, Bells. Take care." He turned to leave, and I grabbed him in another hug. He was pleasantly surprised.

"Have fun, Dad. I mean it." I pulled away, and he walked out of the door happy. Edward and Alice looked at me strangely. "What?" I was confused.

"What was that all about?" Edward was quicker than Alice. I blushed, and turned away from him. Well, I didn't really turn away from him so much as I attempted. He turned with me, his eyes still intent on my face. I sighed, knowing that I wouldn't be able to dodge him forever.

"I don't know how much longer I'll be able to do that without wanting to kill him." I almost whispered. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice slink out of the living room, and as I looked around, I noticed the rest was vacant too. I felt bad: I was always chasing everyone away.

Edward wrapped his arms around me, and I buried my face in his chest. "You don't have to do this, you know. Everyone will be content with you being a human. I don't want you to feel pressure."

I pulled my face away from his chest, and laughed without humor. "I don't want to be an old woman, Edward. I don't want to die, knowing that you can't! I know everyone would accept me as a human, but that wouldn't curb their urge to kill me, would it? I know my very presence in this house makes Jasper uncomfortable." I trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Edward sighed loudly.

"I want you to have a normal life. You know I don't want you to become like me. Jasper will grow tolerant over time. His discomfort is a temporary situation." Edward stroked my cheek, and I felt like laughing. Edward sensed this. "What?"

"This is so beside the point I was trying to make. It's not a big deal. I'm still sure about this, and you of all people should know that. It was just some pre-change anxiety." I laughed lightly in an attempt to lighten the mood. It failed miserably.

Edward didn't crack a smile. "Any anxiety is bad. I don't want you to go into this not being sure. It's pretty permanent." I laid my finger gently over his lips.

"I'm sure, really I am. Can we do something else besides argue now? Please?" I needed a day to do nothing.

Edward nodded. "Yes, I'm up for something different as well. But just know that this argument isn't over. I'll be questioning your decision until the day you get changed." As he finished his speech Alice rocketed into the living room.

"Are you guys finally finished talking? I'm ready to do something." Alice crossed her arms impatiently. Jasper slinked into the room, placing his hand on Alice's shoulder. Edward glanced at me quickly, and the look in his eyes spelled impatience.

"I don't know, what did you have in mind?" He sounded tired of this outing already. I felt the same way; I really just wanted to be alone with him.

Alice unfolded her arms. "Well, I was thinking a movie in Port Angeles. Then, maybe we could run up to Seattle to the mall? I need a new pair of jeans." She looked at me. "And Bella needs some things too."

Edward sighed. It was about as mellow as the day was going to get. He locked eyes with me, and I nodded ever so slightly. He rolled his eyes, and turned toward Alice. "That sounds relatively okay. Do Jasper and I have to shopping with you?"

Alice rolled her eyes, and I wasn't sure if she was imitating Edward, or if she was serious. "Of course not. But if you want to, that's a different story."

Edward scoffed. I took that as a no. Alice smiled, and poked him in the arm. "Are you sure you don't want to? We might be able to find something for you too." She looked at me, her face turning from playful to scary in a split second. I was supposed to play along.

"Uh, yeah. Don't you want new clothes?" I asked lamely. Edward smiled, obviously trying to suppress a laugh at my lack of enthusiasm. Alice rolled her eyes again, and pulled Jasper toward the door.

"We'll figure it out when we get there." She called back, as if she didn't know already. Edward took my hand.

"We'll do something together later, just the two of us." He whispered into my ear. The sound of his voice, and the cool air caressing my neck made me shiver. He sounded excited about _that_.

"Which car are we taking, Alice?" He sounded thoroughly impatient.

"Emmett's Jeep!" She called back.

"Does he know we're taking it?" I asked. She shook her head.

"No, but he won't mind." She was already at the garage.

I looked at Edward, who shook his head. "Today is going to be a long day, isn't it?" I asked. Edward smiled.

"Yes, it is." Then he bent down to kiss me.


	8. Dressing Room Fun

**Author's Note: I'm sick, so I update! Thanks for all the lovely reviews, they really make my day. Read and Review!**

Jasper started the car before Edward and I got in. He was backing it out of the driveway when he hit Edward. I screamed, and very nearly threw myself behind the car, but Edward laughed.

"Nice, Jasper." He turned, and saw the horrified look on my face. He was by my side in an instant, his stone arms around me. I swallowed the huge lump I had in my throat, and threw my arms around his neck. I felt him take a deep breath, inhaling my scent. "You should know I'm a little more durable than that, Bella." He breathed out, and Jasper backed the car around us, so that I was standing right next to the passenger side door. I heard a whirring noise as she rolled down the window.

"Come on, I want to get going. Stop manhandling her, Edward, and help her get in!" Alice's level of impatience was reaching the breaking point; she had trouble keeping her voice level.

All at once, I was hit with a wave of calm that nearly knocked me off my feet. The window rolled back up, and Alice sat back in the seat, obviously not in as much of a rush. My eyes felt heavy, and I knew Edward was bearing most of my weight. He opened the door, and settled me behind Alice. Jasper was in the driver's seat. Edward shut my door gently, and almost before it closed he was in the car next to me, his arm draped lightly over my shoulders. I laid my head on his chest.

Jasper turned off the calm, and Alice looked agitated. "Thanks, Jasper." She punched him in the arm playfully, then turned around in her seat to look at me.

"I think we should skip the movie, and just go shopping." She said to me, but the groans of Edward and Jasper were audible. I smiled, knowing very well that she was going to get her way.

"That's fine by me, Alice. I wasn't really in the mood for a movie anyway. Where are we going?" I tried really, really hard to sound interested, but it fell flat.

"Seattle." She turned back around, and fiddled with the radio. Edward leaned over me, and put his lips to my ear.

"I wanted to go to a movie." His cool breath curled around my neck, drifting up toward my face. I inhaled deeply, and the scent was breathtaking. His fingers traced a line from my ear to my collarbone. I shivered, and he laughed under his breath.

"Why?" I barely got the word out, and his lips were on mine. I opened one eye, and saw Jasper staring at us incredulously in the rearview mirror. I smiled at him through Edward's kiss, and reminded myself to breathe. Jasper averted his eyes out of politeness. Edward pulled his lips from mine, but only enough so that we were no longer kissing. I still felt their marble smoothness barely touching me.

"Haven't you ever wanted to kiss in a movie theatre? I thought that was what teenagers did." He had my face in his hands; I felt his lips move as he talked. His tawny eyes stared into mine, and I felt the strangest sensation. It took me a second to realize what it was: my insides melting.

"I never really thought about it." I managed to stutter. Edward's laugh echoed in the car. Alice turned her head to look at us, a highly amused look on her face.

"I have." Edward whispered against my lips. I tilted my face forward, so that our lips met.

"Will you two _please_ quit that? It's getting nauseating, and I'm not human!" She mocked us. Edward smiled his mind obviously somewhere else. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, come on Alice. You've never gotten gooey with Jasper?" I asked, highly curious. Alice and Jasper didn't act like regular couples. If you weren't around them on a daily basis, you probably wouldn't know they _were_ a couple.

Alice looked at Jasper sheepishly, and I felt like I had tapped into something. I stared at them disbelievingly. "Do you?" I asked again.

Jasper shot Alice a look. She smiled. "Not in front of people, the way you two do.

You flaunt your relationship, almost as much as Rosalie and Emmett." She looked at Edward when she spoke.

Edward came back from his mental vacation. "Excuse you, Alice. We are nothing like Rosalie and Emmett." It took me a while to pinpoint the emotion in his voice. I finally realized that he was offended.

"Oh, don't be like that Edward. I didn't mean it in a _bad_ way. It's just that you and Bella are very matter of fact about your relationship. The point I was trying to make is that Jasper and I are low key, more so than other people." Alice was treading lightly, trying not to offend him further. From the look on his face, I didn't blame her.

Edward broke the tension by smiling. "It's fine Alice. But I still think you're wrong. Bella and I are very discreet." He drove the point home by kissing my neck. Alice looked at me matter of factly. I shrugged.

"We're here." Jasper said quietly, and I looked out the window for the first time. The city of Seattle sprawled before us. I smiled. It had been awhile since I'd been in a big city, and I missed it. Edward's arm tightened around me.

Alice gave Jasper directions to the nearest mall, and chatted quietly with him in the front seat.

Edward sat up straight. "Are you ready for shopping with Alice? We could go off, and do something just us. Please?" His velvet voice pleaded with me, and it was almost impossible to deny him. But Alice ended up doing that for me.

"Shut it, Edward. Just try to enjoy yourself, okay? And no stealing Bella from me. I'll hunt you down." She smiled sweetly, just as we pulled into the parking lot.

Edward exhaled slowly, as if he were trying to keep his cool, which he probably was. I honestly didn't blame him. I really wasn't up for this either. When the car came to a complete stop, and Jasper had shifted into park, Edward got out of the car, pulling me with him. Alice kept her eyes on us the entire time.

"You're not going to get away, Edward. Stop trying." Alice grabbed Jasper's hand and walked with him into the mall. Jasper seemed pretty resigned to the fact that Alice was taking him shopping.

I thought about it for a while. Alice loved to shop, yes, but I'd never actually seen her in action. She'd talked for months about going shopping here and there, but something always came up. Now that I actually stopped to think, I was kind of excited. Then, Alice asked Jasper for the money. She really wasn't into carrying purses. My mouth dropped open, my stomach falling with my jaw.

The bills weren't twenties, or fifties, or even hundreds. They were _thousand_ dollar bills. And there were _a lot _of them. Edward raised his eyebrows.

"Is that all you brought?"

"Yes. It's a small shopping trip. I don't plan on going overboard." She glanced at me. My mouth was still open. Her cool fingers pressed against my jaw, closing it. I was still in shock. There must have been $30,000 there. A small trip?

We finally make it into the mall, and Alice heads for the first store. I didn't even pay attention to the name. Edward's arm was around me, and I kept getting these incredulous looks. Nothing out of the ordinary there.

"Alice, Bella and I are going to look at some clothes for me." Edward steered me toward the men's section, and Alice narrowed her eyes.

"Don't try anything." She hissed, dragging Jasper off to the women's section. Once Edward and I were in the men's section, he grabbed a couple shirts without even looking at them. He pulled me to the dressing rooms. He locked us into a stall, threw the shirts on the flimsy bench and turned to me.

"What are you doing?" I breathed. I was so confused.

"This." He grabbed my face and kissed me. I suddenly understood. I wound my arms around his neck, and pressed my body closer to his. His fingers splayed across my back. He wasn't holding me carefully, and the pressure of his hands sent shivers up my spine. I parted my lips, and breathed out. Edward tore himself away from me, and at first I thought it was because I was going too far. Then, the stall door shook violently. I looked at Edward in panic. He had one of the shirts he'd grabbed on. He hadn't been wearing it before. He bent to my ear swiftly.

"Play along." He kissed my cheek. I nodded numbly. The shaking door finally flew open. He looked down at the shirt.

"How do I look, Bella?"


	9. That Dress

**Author's Note: I really enjoyed your reviews last chapter. Particularly the one from Kiss Me Like You Mean It. She talked about how I portrayed Alice as a shopping-is-a-sport kind of person, instead of a bouncy, hyper-active type of person. That was exactly how I wanted to portray her. Thanks for the review! Pirate-princess 1, I didn't really understand what you were trying to say. But anyway, thanks for all the lovely reviews and such! Enjoy!**

I stared at Edward for a long moment, not daring to look to see who was at the door. He raised his eyebrows slightly, nudging me with his expression. I collected myself, and managed to play the part.

I put my finger to my lip in mock concentration. "Well, I think…" I was abruptly cut off by someone clearing their throat. Our visitor.

"Excuse me, but can I ask why you two are in here together?" Edward's head snapped up in surprise. Very well acted surprise. I worked hard to contain the nervous giggles that threatened to give us away. I looked over too, very apprehensive about who I was going to see staring back at me. I sighed, relieved. Jasper.

Edward was not relieved. Edward was not happy to see Jasper in the slightest. "What are you doing here?" He asked, rather rudely. Jasper ignored the tone of Edward's voice, and answered the question.

"Hiding from Alice. You know how she gets when she's shopping." Jasper shuddered slightly. I was totally clueless, but Edward nodded his head. They both noticed the expression on my face, and filled me in.

"Alice is a very territorial person. She treats shopping like a sport- it's very competitive for her." Jasper said, calm as can be. I shuddered a little. Alice was a very intense person, and if shopping was like a sport for her, then I would be willing to bet a couple of the Cullen's cars on the fact that her shopping would be scary.

Edwards arm rested lightly on my shoulders. "Yes, she's very intense about her shopping. She's looking for you, as a matter of fact. She found a dress she thinks would look nice on you." He smiled, obviously glad that she wasn't looking for him. "You go, Jasper and I will stay here." He shoved me out the door gently, and closed it behind me. Damn.

I walked out to the sales floor, my eyes scanning the store for her. I found her clutching a very pretty dress, among various other items in the women's section.

"Hey, Alice. Find anything good?" I tried hard to sound genuine, to sound like I was having the time of my life, but for the umpteenth time that day, I fell flat. I really just wanted to be with Edward.

Alice looked at me, and for a moment I was scared. Her eyes were pitch black, and had the look of a wild animal about them. She was paler than usual, and looked like she would rip my face off if I said the wrong thing. I took a deep breath, and tried not to be frightened.

Her voice didn't match her look. "Yes, actually. I found this gorgeous red dress. I want you to try it on. Come with me." For the second time in an hour period, I was being dragged off to a dressing room. I had the feeling that this trip wouldn't be as fun as the last one.

She opened the stall door, and came in with me. "Hurry up, I want to see how it will look." She pressed the dress into my hand. I scoffed.

"As if you don't already know how it's going to look." I smiled at her, and she smiled back sheepishly.

"That's true. But I don't want to buy it without _you _seeing what it looks like. Now, go on, put the thing on." She waited patiently while I fumbled out of my clothes and into the dress. It was wine colored, and simply cut: The front had a sweetheart neckline, and was tapered at the waist. The skirt was full, and hung down to mid-calf. I had Alice button the back, and looked at myself in the mirror.

I looked good. Really good.

"Alice, this is beautiful!" I gasped without thinking. Alice smiled hugely, pleased with my response. "I wonder if Edward will like it." I thought out loud. Soon enough, I was being dragged out of the dressing room in search of Edward. We found him in men's wear with Jasper, looking at leather jackets. Edward turned, and smiled as soon as he laid eyes on me.

"Bella, you look beautiful." He came over and laid his fingers on my cheek. He bent down to kiss my lips when Alice coughed. He straightened up, realizing we were in public.

"Do you think we should get it for her?" Alice asked. Both Jasper and Edward nodded their heads. I lifted my arm to look at the price tag. I gasped aloud, and all three of them laughed. I found nothing funny.

"Why are you laughing? I'm not accustomed to spending….thousands of dollars on clothing."

Alice was still laughing. "You'd better get used to it, Bella. We Cullens tend to be very well dressed."

Edward nodded his agreement. "It's not uncommon to take shopping trips to Paris or Rome. You got off easy today" He took my hand.

Alice took it back. "Let's go get you changed, so we can pay for this stuff." She escorted me back to the dressing room, where I changed back into my regular clothes. Alice collected the dress, and went to the register. I waited outside with Edward and Jasper. I didn't want to know how much she'd spent in there.

We went to several stores after the first. Alice bought enough clothing to clothe the entire town of Forks. About half was for me. Edward bought several items, as did Jasper.

After about five more stores, Edward put his foot down. "Bella's tired, and I think we need to go home." I smiled when he said home, knowing it was the same place for each of us. Edward smiled too, and Alice and Jasper stood behind us, making gagging noises.

"Shut up." Edward turned swiftly. Alice and Jasper froze, then collapsed against each other with laughter. I giggled too.

"Stop being so serious, Edward. Lighten up a little." I kissed his cheek, and his annoyed expression melted. He smiled at me again, and held my hand all the way to the car.

Jasper drove again, Alice in the passenger seat, Edward and I in the back. On the way out of Seattle, Alice turned around.

"Bella, are you hungry?" She liked watching me eat. It fascinated her. I shook my head.

"No, not really." I just wanted to get home, change into pajamas, and crawl into bed. I wanted to be alone with Edward too. The faster we got home, the faster that would happen.

Edward bent down to me. "Are you sure?" He was always so concerned about how much I was eating. He never thought it was enough. I sighed.

"Yes, I'm sure." Alice shrugged her shoulders, and turned back around. I pulled Edward's face to mine. I whispered into his ear. "You know what I really want?"

He played along. "What might that be? A car? College money?" He chuckled slightly. I didn't.

"I want to be alone. Just you and me." I breathed. He tensed.

"I think that sounds perfect." He sat up, and I leaned against his chest. The next think I knew, he was gently shaking me awake. We were home. By the time I opened my eyes, Jasper and Alice were inside.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty." He said softly. I opened my eyes slowly. Edward's fingers were stroking my cheek.

"Alice wants you to model your dress for everyone when we get inside. I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow, though." He sounded like he really wanted me to wait.

"I really just want to get to bed." _But not necessarily for sleep,_ I added in my head.

"I'm really glad you said that. You don't look up to a runway walk anyway." He lifted me out of the car, slamming the door behind him. As we walked up to the house, I touched his face. He ducked his head into my hand and sighed contentedly.

"How fast can you get us up to your room?" I asked, a hint of sleep still in my voice. Edward laughed.

"I don't know. Want to time it?" He clutched me tighter and started running.


	10. Who needs sleep?

**Author's Note: I tried as fast as I could to update, but there's so much stuff going on! Don't take AP classes. Just don't do it. Anyway, thanks for all the fabulous reviews! I love reading them, and opening my email and seeing alert after alert after alert is really great. I love all of you! **

Edward held me in his stone arms as he closed the door to his room. Everything was as it was when we left. The huge bed was still unmade, and my clothes were still on the floor. It was beginning to feel like home already. Edward sighed.

"What?" I was confused. Was he having second thoughts about me moving in?

"It's nothing. I haven't picked up after anyone in a very long time, is all." He set me on the bed, and picked my clothes up from the floor. I smiled.

"You don't have to pick up after me. I can do that myself. You didn't give me a chance." I teased him, curling up under the covers.

"I know. I don't mind picking up after _you_. It's everyone else." He smiled, throwing my clothes in the closet, where I assumed there was a hamper. He joined me on the bed, sliding under the comforter with me. I wondered what was up; usually he stayed above the sheets. All of my questions faded away as he scooted closer to me, his arms reaching out and sliding me toward him. I smiled, burying my face in his shoulder. His arms traced lines up my back, up and down. His finger slid down, and caught on the hem of my shirt. He dragged it up, exposing my back to the cold air. I sucked in a breath, and he pulled my shirt back down. I reached back and stopped him. I lifted my head from his shoulder and met his eyes.

He gave me a warning look. "Bella…." He trailed off, not quite wanting to stop me. I smiled deviously.

"Don't Bella me. I can take my clothes off if I want. I live here too." I pulled my shirt over my head, leaving me only with a camisole. I suddenly wanted Edward's chest bare.

Seemingly reading my thoughts, he pulled his shirt over his head too, although he was much faster than I was. It was off and out of sight before I could blink. I realized that this was the second time in as many days that I'd seen him shirtless. I could get used to this. He wrapped his arms around me again, and I pressed my face to his cold chest.

"I like it when you say that." I thought I heard him say something, but I could never be sure around him. I lifted my head again.

"I'm sorry? I didn't catch that." I studied his face. He looked uncomfortable, so of course I was going to push it. He didn't say anything. "What did you say?"

"I said I like it when you say that." His tone was low again, but clear. I smiled, determined to push him to the brink.

"Like it when I say what?" I asked, obviously enjoying myself. He shot me a burning look, but spoke anyway.

"I like it when you say you live here. It makes me…happy." He smiled like he was embarrassed and kissed my forehead.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and tilted my head up so that his lips were touching mine. His hand slid around the back of my neck, raising goose bumps on my shoulders and collarbone. I didn't care.

I threw myself into the kiss with abandon, and apparently Edward did too, because his hands were all over me, even on my stomach. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and his hand slid from my knee up to my waist. I sighed; his fingers were cold through the thin fabric of the skimpy top I had on.

Naturally, Edward broke free first. When I sighed against his lips, that must have pushed him over the edge. I pouted for a moment, and felt his cool fingers under my chin, tilting my head up.

"If I didn't stop kissing you, I would've gone further than I'm comfortable with." He kissed my cheek.

"I thought you had unbreakable self control." I taunted, still not pleased with not having gotten my way. Edward frowned.

"You and I both know that's not true." He bent his head to my neck, and for one crazy second I thought he was going to bite me. Instead, he laid a tender line of kisses leading down to my shoulder. He pushed aside the strap so that my shoulder was entirely bare. He traced little patterns on my neck and shoulder, driving me wild. I threw my head back against the pillows, arching my back. He chuckled lightly and pulled his head away. I vaguely remembered that he'd said something, and that I was supposed to respond.

"What were we talking about?" My eyes were half-open and I was dizzy. I took in a deep breath; I'd forgotten to breath.

Edward laughed freely. "Nothing of major importance. You should really go to sleep now. It's been a long day." He gently pushed me down so I was laying flat. He climbed out from underneath the covers, and laid on top of them. I scooted my body closer to his, and eagerly pressed myself against him. He adjusted the covers around my shoulders so that I wouldn't get cold. I doubted that would happen. His kisses had made my skin hot.

I tucked my head into his chest and closed my eyes. He started humming, and I recognized my lullaby. I was going to say something about it, but my eyelids suddenly felt like lead weights were on them. I succumbed to the urge to sleep, curling into Edward. The last thing I felt before I drifted was his arms around me.

I dreamed of nothing but him.

The next morning, I woke up in the same position I fell asleep in, but I didn't feel stiff as I usually would have. Edward's smiling eyes were the first thing I saw.

"Do you want to eat something?" He was anxious. I hadn't eaten in awhile.

"Uh, give me a minute to wake up. Then, we'll talk. What time is it?" I stretched, rolling over onto him. He laughed.

"About nine. Why, in a hurry to get somewhere?" He ran his hands up and down the sides of my body. I shivered, and climbed out of bed.

"No. I was just wondering. Why'd you let me sleep so late?" I drug myself over to the mirror, and cringed away. Not looking so hot today.

Edward shrugged, and came up behind me. I noticed he was still shirtless, and I turned around to touch his chest. I ran my hands over the solid contours, reveling in the sheer perfection. He caught my hands and pressed them over the area where his still heart was. I bent my head to his chest and kissed his hand. I met his eyes and melted. They were molten gold, burning into mine with the utmost intensity. I felt myself looking back at him from my puddle on the floor.

He dropped my hands from his chest, keeping one of them to hold. "Why not? You were tired, and it's not like we're in any big hurry today. Relax."

I reached up and mussed his hair. "I think that's being accomplished. I've never felt more relaxed. Oh, I think I'm ready to eat now."

"Okay, let's get downstairs. I think Alice made you breakfast." He saw the stricken look on my face and laughed, but didn't say it was a joke. Alice. Making me breakfast.

I cringed, and let him lead me down the stairs to my waking nightmare.


	11. Breakfast at Alice's

**Author's Note: I'm sorry it took me FOREVER to finish this. It's been what, two weeks? I'm really sorry. Life came up and slapped me in the face. But on to happier times! I can honestly say that you guys leave the most flattering reviews ever! AlexiaRiaper said that I write just like Stephenie Meyer, which floored me. Do I really? I thought it was an okay imitation. Thanks so much and keep reviewing! **

As Edward and I descended the stairs, a feeling of dread crept over me. What kind of awful thing was in store for me downstairs? My grip on Edward's hand tightened, and he took notice. He disentangled his hand from mine, and put his arm around my waist, pulling me closer.

"It's not going to be a travesty, I promise. And if it is, then I'll take you out for breakfast, okay?" He kissed my forehead.

I sighed, nodding. What else was I going to do? Steal out the front door to breakfast with Edward? It was a thought, but I couldn't disappoint Alice like that. I suddenly wished that my stomach had a steel lining.

We reached the kitchen and, shockingly, there were no offensive odors or black clouds of smoke waiting to greet me. Actually, it smelled pretty good. Alice had her back turned to us, bending over to get something out of the oven. She used her bare hands to get whatever it was, and I cringed. Edward smiled.

"It doesn't hurt her, Bella. Relax." He stood behind me and massaged soothing circles on my shoulders. When he was done, he kissed my neck. Despite his lips being cold, I almost melted.

Alice was poking at something. I didn't let my eyes stray down to what it was, and focused my attentions elsewhere. I noticed that Alice had a frilly, red and white gingham apron on. I felt laughter building up, and I struggled hard to control it. Then, behind me, I heard Emmett's booming voice. It got louder the closer he got, and when he came into the kitchen, he started laughing, setting me off.

I was bent over the counter, trying desperately to control myself. Emmett was on the floor, his legs splayed out in front of him. Edward's hands were on my waist, attempting to pull me upright. I willed myself to stop laughing, and breath at a normal rate.

I looked over at Alice and saw something I wasn't expecting. It was obvious that her feelings were hurt. I felt bad immediately.

"Were you laughing at the food, Bella?" She asked quietly. Up until that moment, I hadn't even looked at the food. Words started pouring from my mouth, trying to reassure her.

"Oh no, Alice! I haven't even looked at the food yet. I was laughing at your apron. I never imagined you in such a…un-designer look." I managed to shut my mouth when I saw Alice smiling.

"I'm wearing the apron so that I didn't get food on my designer dress. Your laughter really wasn't about the food?" She was wringing her hands.

By this time, Emmett had gotten himself together. "No, Alice. It wasn't about the food. Relax." After delivering those comforting words, he strolled out of the kitchen in search of more entertaining things. Alice rolled her eyes.

I decided to get right to the heart of the situation. "What's for breakfast?" I asked, trying hard to keep the note of fear out of my tone. Alice either noticed it and didn't say anything, or was too busy flitting around to notice. I hoped it was the latter, but with my luck, it was probably the former. Alice turned to the counter, and snatched something off it. In less than a second, what Alice had made was sitting in front of me.

"Alice…what is it?" I asked cautiously. Alice smiled, and took a knife out from a drawer. For one crazy second, I thought she might stab me with it. I quickly shook all thoughts of being shanked by Alice out of my head.

"It's quiche. Don't worry; I made it out of a cookbook. It's not going to kill you." She sounded like she was getting impatient.

"What's in it?" I was insistent on getting all the information I could about what this was before I put it in my mouth. And considering the pizza incident, I thought that was justified.

"There's spinach and cheese. It's like an egg pie. I thought you might like it." Alice had her arms folded across her chest.

"It looks delicious, Alice. Thank you." I wasn't exaggerating. It was golden brown on top, and the crust was very nice. I went to cut myself a piece, but Edward took the knife out of my hand and cut it for me.

"Thanks, Dad." I muttered under my breath. Edward laughed lightly.

"I don't even want to think about what you just said." He finished cutting the quiche, and put a piece on my plate. Before I could eat any of it, he took my face in his hands and kissed me. I dropped the fork I was holding on the floor, wrapping my arms around his neck. I curled my fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck and threw myself into the kiss with abandon.

Edward broke it first, as usual. He stroked my cheek with his thumb and smiled at me, looking into my eyes. I blushed, and turned my head. He bent to pick up the fork, taking it to the sink to wash it.

He brought it back three seconds later, impeccably clean. This was it. The moment. The ultimate test. Time for breakfast. I cut the quiche with my fork, and brought a bite to my lips. I paused, was I really sure I wanted to do this? Alice had left the room, so it was just me and Edward. I bit my lip.

Edward sighed. "Just eat it, Bella." I took a deep breath and stuck it into my mouth. To my great surprise, it wasn't terrible. As a matter of fact, it was actually really good. I started eating faster. Edward laughed.

As I finished, Alice came into the room looking happy. "Did you like it?" She smiled as if she didn't already know.

"It was amazing, Alice. Good job." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, she had her arms wrapped around me.

"Thanks, Bella. You had no idea how much I needed to hear that." She kissed my cheek and walked out of the kitchen. Edward came up behind me, and rubbed my back.

"It's just you and me today, so whatever you want to do is fine." He kissed my cheek.

"Let me get dressed, and we'll figure something out." I ran up the stairs, and into our bedroom. I showered quickly, and blow dried my hair. As I was putting my shoes on, the bedroom door opened. Edward.

"Are you almost ready?" He asked, obviously anxious to go somewhere. He had his arms folded across his broad chest. I stood up and walked over to him. I tugged on one of his hands, pulling it away from his chest. His fingers wove through mine.

"Actually, I am ready. It seems like you have something planned." He brought our entwined fingers to his lips, kissing my fingertips one by one.

"Nothing in particular, but I was thinking of running today, if that was alright with you." He sounded like he really had his heart set on it, so I agreed instantly.

"Of course. Is there going to be rain today?" I wanted to know if there was going to be a repeat of a couple days ago. He and I in the meadow, and the rain.

"Alice says yes, sometime around dusk. But until then, it's just cloudy skies." His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer.

"Let's get out of here. I want to feel the wind in my hair." I stretched up to kiss his cheek. He nodded his agreement, and we started down to the door at a human pace. When we finally got there, Edward lifted me onto his back, and flung the door open. It suddenly felt as if we were flying. A thought flitted across my mind. Had Edward closed the door? Part of me was worried that he hadn't.

When I felt the wind rush past my face, and the almost tangible happiness radiating from him, I no longer cared. I held onto him tighter, and settled in for the ride.


	12. Are You Sure?

**Author's Note: There was a review that asked why closing the door was relevant. Well, in my imagination, the Cullen's have some pretty valuable property, so closing the door might help them to keep it. I know they're really rural, but still. It's the principle. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews!**

Edward ran swiftly through the forests surrounding Forks. Every once in awhile he would suddenly turn a different direction, throwing me completely off balance. I almost fell off his back once or twice. Of course, I didn't _actually_ fall, because of his super fast reflexes, but it was very scary nonetheless.

"What are you _doing_?" I asked quickly, right after being readjusted by Edward. I clung tightly to him, my fingers digging in as hard as they could. "It's like you're playing tag or something." I was breathing hard.

Edward didn't say anything. I knew I hit the nail right on the head. His shoulders were rigid, well, more so than normal.

"I'm right, aren't I?" I would've jumped up and down if it weren't for the fact that I was on his back, and trees were rushing past us at a very high rate of speed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think you'd like the idea so much." He turned again, and I teetered dangerously. I almost said what I was thinking._ You're damn right I don't like the idea._ But then I considered. How often was Edward Cullen actually surprised? He could read _minds_ for crying out loud. In fact, he could read _all _minds. Everyone's but mine.

"Well, you were wrong. I think it's a great idea. I just wish you would have let me know. I want to be in on the game too." I smiled, knowing I'd said the opposite of what he expected. To _my_ surprise, though, he stopped running.

"What?" He twisted around to look at me, his face a mask of shock. I hit him on the shoulder.

"Go! We're playing tag here, now don't get us caught!" I shrieked, beginning to enjoy myself. He didn't hesitate, rushing forward, nearly throwing me off his back. The Edward generated wind whipped through my hair, raking it back from my face. I dug my fingers into Edward's shirt and leaned back slightly, enjoying the sensation. Then, a strange wind intercepted the one I was enjoying. I clung to Edward, and heard ghostly laughing. Emmett.

Edward sped up, and what was blurred before was hopelessly obscured now. It's like the world was a painting, and someone had smudged everything. I felt the skin on my face flap. Wow.

"Can't catch us, Emmett!" I yelled the words, and the speed of the wind rushing past my face garbled them. I giggled. That was also garbled.

Edward laughed, but it was cut off as he switched directions. Emmett's haunting laugh abruptly disappeared, and Edward laughed harder. Then, he came to a dead stop in the middle of the forest. I punched his shoulder.

"We're going to get tagged here!" I was caught up in the thrill of the chase. It took me a second to realize that he was waiting for me to calm down. My cheeks turned red.

"Do you want to go do something else? Just you and me?" The tone of his voice told me that's what _he_ wanted to do. I nodded, then realized that he couldn't see me nod. The blush on my cheeks deepened.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here." I rested my hands lightly on his shoulders, and felt him grasp my wrists. Before I knew what was happening, I was cradled in his arms. I looked at him questioningly. He noticed my quizzical look.

"I wanted to see your face." He said simply. I rested my head against his rock hard chest.

"Anywhere in particular you had in mind?" I wondered aloud. Edward ran, his feet moving swiftly, his mind a million miles away.

He looked down at me, and the look of tenderness on his face struck me. "Anywhere but here. Anywhere where you and I can be _alone_." He emphasized the word. I shivered, dreaming about what was in store.

"So I get to choose?" I was disbelieving. Usually we had an itinerary we had to cover before we actually got to do anything fun. Most of the time, the itinerary went unfinished.

"Anywhere you want to go." The look on his face told me that if it was up to him, we'd be taking a flight somewhere.

"I know we go there all the time but…" Edward pressed his finger to my lips. I kissed it, closing my eyes.

"The meadow. That's good. We need to talk anyway." He left his fingers at my lips, and started running again. "We're leaving!" He called out to everyone who was playing tag. I very faintly heard replies.

I frowned. What did we need to talk about? Then I remembered; we were getting my things out of Charlie's house on Saturday, tomorrow, actually. My nerves suddenly spun out of control. Tomorrow.

Edward stopped running again. It took me a second to realize that we were there. He sat on the ground, his back up against the huge tree. I was still in his arms, and I felt like a child. I squirmed around until he set me on the ground.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked nervously. He looked at me.

"You know we're moving you out of Charlie's house tomorrow. I just wanted to make sure you really wanted to do this. That you're not just doing this to make me happy. If you wanted to stay at Charlie's, I'd be perfectly fine with that. I don't want you to feel pressured into anything." He would have kept talking if I hadn't stopped him with a kiss.

"Quit. I know you feel that I make rash decisions, but this is not one of them. Yes, I love you. Yes, I want to move in with you, and yes, I'm sure about this. Relax." I touched his face, and coaxed my favorite crooked smile out of him.

He took my face in his hands, and brought his face very close to mine. His breath washed over me, making my head spin. "Just making sure." And then he kissed me. It wasn't a careful kiss. His lips parted, and he ran his tongue over my lips. If he hadn't pulled away then, I would have passed out.

"So, is our 'discussion' over?" I was breathing hard. He laughed, obviously not taking me seriously.

"Not quite." He kissed my forehead.

"What more is there to discuss?" I really didn't want to discuss this. We were alone, and he wanted to discuss moving. Not cool.

"What time do you want to do this tomorrow?" He could hardly keep a straight face. I slumped over in the grass.

"Does that really matter, Edward?" I was completely exasperated. I ran my hands down the sides of my face.

"No, not really. It's whenever you want to do it." He pulled me upright, and draped his arm around my shoulders. I settled into his chest, feeling the chill of his skin through his shirt. I closed my eyes, completely content. The next think I knew, Edward was shaking me.

"Wake up, Bella." He kissed the tip of my nose, and I looked around, realizing it was dark.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't realize…" I trailed off, my attention caught by the stars. I climbed into Edward's lap, completely amazed. "The stars are so beautiful."

"That's why I woke you up. I didn't want to look at them alone." I smiled, perfectly happy.

"I'm making the right decision, Edward. Trust me." I kissed his cheek, looking forward to tomorrow.


	13. Finally!

**Author's Note: Well, I don't really know how much longer I can drag this story out. I'm thinking another chapter or two. Oh! This is 'officially' the longest story I've written for fan fiction! As per usual, you guys leave absolutely fabulous reviews. Keep doing it!**

Edward and I lay in the tall grass of our meadow, wrapped in each other's arms and staring at the stars. I felt his fingers absentmindedly playing with my hair. I thought about tomorrow with growing anticipation. I was making the right move, of that I was completely sure. And Charlie would be okay without me. I ignored the pain that ricocheted through me, pressed it deep down.

Then, Edward's face was directly above me, where the stars should have been. His hands were on either side of my head. As I looked into his god-like face, I knew every thing, every horrible thing that he and I had been through together, or apart for that matter, was worth it. I knew that every thing we would go through together in the future would be worth it. He, Edward Cullen, was worth it.

He lowered his face toward mine, and I felt dew drops slide off his stone skin and fall onto my face. I laughed, and the sound must have set him off. I looked into his eyes while he laughed, and saw that the laughter had not reached them. Something else had. The intensity of his gaze very nearly melted me. He bent his arms and lowered his face to mine. I held my breath, and braced myself for the miracle that was about to occur. Edward's lips brushed mine. Miracle achieved. I sighed, and as I did, Edward pressed his lips harder to mine. My fingers wove through his hair. Oh, yes. I had to tell myself to breath. Edward's lips moved to my neck, to my shoulder. He pushed my shirt off my shoulder to gain access to the skin there. His lips touched me, and raised goose bumps. As he was kissing me, I felt the rain Alice had predicted. It soaked Edward's shirt, hair, and the ground all around us. I blew my breath out, and I could see it. The temperature must have dropped as well. Edward pulled away and stood up, taking me with him.

"We need to get back; the storm's only going to get worse. And you need to sleep. Tomorrow's going to be taxing." He spoke to me like a child. When did the moment go from romantic to infuriating?

"I'm not a child, Edward." I jerked my hand away from him as soon as I had my footing. He looked confused.

"What?" He looked hurt.

"Sometimes, it's aggravating how you talk to me. I know, I know. You're much older than I am, but I'm…I'm 18, and I hate being talked to like a child."

"I talk to you like a child?" He was still confused. I was getting exasperated, so I took the easy way out.

"I think you're right. I'm feeling really tired. Can we talk about this tomorrow?" I wobbled around a little, to get my point across. The confused look disappeared.

"Of course. I don't want you on my back if you're wobbly. Let me carry you." He picked me up in his stone arms. Another plus of lying: I got to be carried by a marble god. I must have been tired, because I fell asleep in his arms on the way home.

I woke up the next morning under the covers of our gold bed. I looked around the room, and into Edward's eyes.

"What time is it?" I asked groggily. Edward smiled at me, barely rumpled from the night before. Sometimes, I was jealous of his ability to maintain his flawless appearance. I mean, the boy drank _blood_ by ripping open animals, and didn't get anything on him. I went to sleep and became a mess. Life wasn't fair.

"It's about 9:30. Are you ready to get up? We have a lot to do today." He was trying to hide it, but he was really excited. Today meant that I would be officially living with him, which was something he'd been waiting for.

"I guess. If we have so much to do today. Who's helping me move?" I sat up unsteadily. Edward's hands flew to my back, and that's when I realized I had my pajamas on. Had he changed my clothes?

He must have read my mind. "Alice changed your clothes last night. You woke up halfway through, but you probably don't remember." He looked me in the eye. "I wasn't in the room." He added, sounding embarrassed. I laughed.

"Don't be embarrassed. It's okay." I kissed cheek, and waited for him to answer my other question.

"Oh, and everyone except Carlisle is helping you move today. I know, I know. It would really only take one of us to help you move, but we have to keep up the façade." He had laughter in his eyes. It was all I could do to keep from smiling sappily at him.

"Where's Carlisle going to be?" I asked stupidly. I was still under the influence of sleep.

"He's going to be at work. He said to tell you he's sorry he couldn't be there today." Edward slowly moved toward the edge of the bed. I groaned, knowing he wanted to get a move on. As soon as my feet hit the floor, Alice was in the room. She had clothes draped over her arm and a brush in her hand. I rolled my eyes.

"Give me the clothes. I can dress myself." I took them from Alice and shooed Edward out the door. Alice turned her back and talked to me while I dressed, slowly.

"I'm so excited that you're officially moving in today. You don't know how long Edward and I have been waiting for this. You're like a sister to me, Bella." If Alice could tear up, she'd be sobbing right about now. I finished dressing and hugged her. She hugged back, all cold stone, but it was the thought that counted. She stood behind me and did my hair. I had to sort of bend at the knees so she could reach. I knew the result would be stunning though. Alice had a knack when it came to my hair.

When she was done, we went downstairs and found everyone sitting in the living room. Everyone except Edward. When I asked where he was, they all looked toward the piano. Sure enough, there he was. I sat on the bench next to him.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, touching his face. He covered my hand with his. The chill on his face was numbing my hand, but I wouldn't have wanted anything else.

"You. I'm always and forever thinking about you. You don't ever need to ask that question. You are always in my thoughts." He took my hand from his face, and kissed me.

"I thought you were rethinking this or something. I know, I know. You'd never do that, and you love me." I rambled to hide my embarrassment. The intensity of his feelings for me amazed me. Each and every time he voiced them, I fell more in love.

I pulled him off the bench, and into the living room. Everyone was standing in a loose circle, and immediately made room for us. I really felt like part of the family, minus the whole being a vampire thing.

Everyone was ready to go. I could see that Jasper and Emmett were chomping at the bit to lift what normal humans considered heavy objects. I had to say a few things before we left, and when I started talking, they started looking impatient.

"Okay, guys. First, when you lift 'heavy' objects, two of you have to do it. Humans find strength in numbers, not in supernatural powers. Second, Charlie's going to be on edge. I know that. So can one of you talk to him while the others move things?" I looked around. Esme raised her hand right away, bless her heart. I smiled. "Thank you, Esme. I think that should be about it. Any questions?" No one raised their hand. Edward looped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his side.

"Let's go." He pulled me toward the door, and the others followed. It was really happening.

The big move.


	14. All Moved Out

**Author's Note:** **MOVING TIME! This isn't the last chapter, so don't freak out. Anyway, read and review. Tell me what you think! P.S. Hi Sam!**

Edward pulled me out to the Volvo, and made sure I was securely fastened to the seat, as if I were in any danger of him crashing the car. His hands lingered in places they shouldn't have. By the time he was finished, I was flushed and we were both breathing heavily.

"We ought to get going, don't you think?" I asked breathlessly. Edward nodded, and disengaged himself from my arms. He was in the car in less than a second, his hands and eyes studiously avoiding me. I folded my hands in my lap, quickly becoming bored. I fidgeted with the radio, going slowly through the stations. Edward eventually got tired of all the static and gently pushed my hands away. Soon, there were soothing sounds coming from the speakers. I lay back against the seat, and tried to relax. My attempt was made in vain.

Truthfully, I was a nervous wreck. My heartbeat was erratic, my breathing wild. Edward's hand clasped around mine, his thumb stroking my palm.

"Are you okay?" He asked, though he knew the answer. I was not okay. I laughed weakly, and watched his eyebrows knit together in concern. His hand tightened around mine, and the result was bordering on pain.

"I'll be alright. Just give me a minute to calm down." I pressed the window button, and closed my eyes as the cool air hit my face. I had to admit, it did wonders to clear my head.

"Your heartbeat has slowed down." Edward mused. His hand relaxed, releasing me from the vice-like grip he'd had on it. I flexed my fingers, relieving the tension in my joints.

"I'm calm now, I promise. It was just a last second freak out. I'm fine." As I spoke, I wondered whose benefit I was speaking for. Edward was clearly not paying attention anymore. He was more interested in racing Emmett down the road. Emmett was not in a car. He looked directly at me, and grinned. I couldn't help but grin back. "Run, Emmett!" I shrieked. Edward turned his head to look at me, his expression exasperated.

"You seem to have gotten over your 'freak out' rather quickly." His tone was sarcastic as he gunned the engine. The Volvo shot forward, pinning me against my seat and taking my breath away. Whatever witty comeback I was prepared to use was blown out the open window.

I pressed the button, rolling the window back up. Alice's face suddenly appeared in the now closed window and I started violently. Edward laughed in a low voice. Alice stuck her tongue out at me, and then she was gone. I rolled my eyes.

"That wasn't funny, Edward. What if I had had a heart attack?" I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

Edward smiled. "On the contrary, Bella, it was quite amusing. I've never seen anyone jump so high." He neglected to answer the second question.

I smirked and got a questioning look from Edward. "Care to tell me what the smirk was about?" He wasn't looking at the road anymore. Even though he had lightening fast reflexes and supernatural reaction times and all that, it still made me nervous when he completely disregarded the road.

I stuttered. I didn't want to confront the heart attack remark, so I made something up quickly. "I was thinking about how ridiculous it is that an entire family of freakishly strong vampires are helping me and my father move a few dinky pieces of bedroom furniture. It seems sort of silly." Now that I thought about it, it _was_ silly. It was going to be cake for them, and would probably take about three seconds. Really, only Edward was necessary.

Edward grimaced. "No, it really is necessary. We have to keep up the façade. We talked about this earlier." He sounded annoyed that I didn't remember. I brushed him off, and turned back to my thoughts. I stifled a laugh at the visual of Emmett carrying one end of my piddly desk.

By the time I was finished mulling over the necessity factor of his whole family helping, we were there. Edward parked the Volvo across the street from the house. He helped me out of the car, and up to the house. Charlie's cruiser was parked in the drive. When we got to the door, Edward hesitated, not knowing if he should knock, or just go in. I sighed impatiently, and pushed past him into the house.

Charlie was lounging on the sofa, but jumped up when he saw us. I heard everyone else come in behind me.

"Hello, Charlie." Esme moved to the front of the group, and started talking to Charlie. Emmett and Jasper crept toward the stairs. Alice and Rosalie were nowhere to be seen, so I assumed they were already up there.

I nodded to Emmett and Jasper that it was okay to go up, and they disappeared. Edward frowned. He didn't want Charlie seeing anything he shouldn't be seeing. I started up the stairs, followed closely by Edward.

My bedroom door was slightly ajar when I got to the top. I pushed it open, and gasped. Everything was packed and ready to move. I rushed to the closet. Empty. The bed was stripped, and the mattress was leaning against the wall.

My mouth dropped open, and I felt a cool hand gently push it closed. "How did you work so fast?" I asked, shock saturating my voice.

Rosalie and Alice laughed. "Isn't it obvious?" Alice touched my shoulder. "We're vampires. The whole supernatural speed thing helps."

"Well, okay." I looked at the small pile of boxes by the door. "Is that everything?" Edward grabbed my hand and squeezed.

Rosalie nodded. "Yes, that's everything." She was leaning on Emmett, who looked around with a disappointed look.

"What?" I asked. Emmett tried in vain to hide his expression.

"I was hoping that there'd be…I don't know, more to lift? I wanna get good use out of the boys." He flexed the muscles in his arms, and Alice rolled her eyes.

Jasper shifted uncomfortably. It took me a second to realize that the room was warm and small. I smelled appealing. I crossed the room quickly and threw the window open.

"Thanks, Bella." Jasper smiled.

"No problem." I looked around the vacant looking room. It still had all my stuff in it, true, but it was all in boxes. "Hey guys, do you think I could get a minute alone?"

"Sure." Alice headed down first, followed by Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett. Edward made up the tail of the line.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked after him. He turned around, smiling.

"You didn't specifically say you wanted me to stay." He strode close to me, and kissed my lips. I blushed.

"You can always assume that when I ask people to leave, you stay. You're a give in." I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him back.

He wrapped his arms around me, and we rocked back and forth. I pulled away to look around the room. It was no longer mine, and that made me a little sad. There were so many good memories here in this room. By the same token, there were bad memories, too. But I preferred to remember the good ones.

I felt Edward's fingers under my chin, tilting my head up for a kiss. I responded out of instinct. I closed my eyes, and tilted my face up to his level. I waited for his lips to touch mine, but they never did. I opened my eyes to find him staring intently at me.

"What?" I asked impatiently. The letdown of him not kissing me had set me slightly on edge.

His liquid gold eyes bore into mine. "Nothing. I was just wondering how I managed to get so lucky. We should go tell everyone that we're ready to start moving stuff."

"You. I'll be down in a minute." I watched him leave, and start down the stairs. I looked at the window, and thought about how many times he'd snuck through it. How many rain showers I'd looked at through it, and how many times I'd slammed the glass down when I was angry with Edward.

Nostalgia flooded through me. I'd miss this room, of that I was sure. I smiled, knowing that I was moving on to a place and person that was equally good to what I had here. I didn't want to think it was better, because there were people and things in this house that were dear to my heart. But equally good. I brushed away a tear that trailed down my cheek, and picked up a box.

I made it down the stairs without tripping, miraculously. When Emmett and Jasper saw me with the box, they fought to get up the stairs first.

"Stupid boys." I heard Rosalie mutter under her breath. I laughed.

I looked to Charlie, standing in the middle of his living room. He looked very small, like he was watching something he didn't want to watch, but couldn't look away. I set the box on the floor, and went over to him.

He held his arms out for a hug, and I stepped right in.

"I'm gonna miss you, kid." His voice was rough with emotion. The tears I was suppressing earlier suddenly sprung up again.

"I'm not going away forever. I'll still visit all the time." I buried my head into his shirt, then pulled away.

"All the time? Well, I can't guarantee I'll be here when you stop by." He was giving me a hard time. I punched him playfully in the shoulder, and we both turned to see what could be done to help.

I looked around for Edward. I saw him through the open door with Esme, loading things into a small U-Haul I didn't know they'd rented.

"Is there anything we can do?" I shouted up the stairs. I got a chorus of no, so Charlie and I went and sat on the porch. I felt lazy watching everyone else work, but Charlie seemed to have no problem with it.

We sat there in silence, listening to the birds and Emmett and Jasper exaggerating sounds, making it seem like moving my furniture actually took effort. Alice and Rosalie carried out the boxes slowly, acting as if they were struggling. I laughed. They were trying so hard.

Finally, everything was moved out. Edward slammed the U-Haul door shut. I hugged Charlie one more time, and promised him I'd visit often.

Edward and I got in the Volvo. Everyone else was in the Jeep, which was towing the U-Haul. I waved to Charlie, and Edward looked at me.

"Are you ready to go?" He stroked my face with his fingertips.

"I'm ready to go home." I amended, smiling. I was still smiling when he kissed me.


End file.
